A human being must eat to live! Well, this is putting the facts a tad simplistically. The diverse functions of the body are dependent on the energy that it derives from food. True, you may try to regulate your nutrition on the advice of the doctor but you need to understand the importance of metabolism. Simply put, metabolism refers to the biochemical changes that go into the body. You will be amazed to know that the food you consume is converted to energy that then fuels the body to remain functional. The body will go on functioning even at rest with respiration, blood circulation, and hormonal balance achieved via proper metabolism.
However, the type of food you eat will not affect the metabolic rate greatly. Instead, you may have to check the BMR and try to regulate it to obtain the desired effect. Furthermore, medicinal drugs may directly affect your metabolism. It helps to be informed about the relationship between Metabolism and Medicine to understand your body better.
First and foremost, you must be informed about how the body alters medicinal drugs to ensure speedy absorption and excretion of components as needed. This procedure is known as medication metabolism. This may be divided into four distinct phases namely-
- Absorption
- Distribution
- Metabolism
- Excretion
A majority of the medicine is metabolized by the liver. It is the responsibility of your doctor to prescribe according to your needs. You would be surprised to know that medicinal drugs that tend to metabolize too slowly may result in several side effects. On the contrary, fast-metabolizing drugs may be removed from the body too rapidly to benefit you.
Factors that Affect Metabolism and Medicine
- Genes– The group of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes is majorly responsible for drug metabolism. However, your body may contain many variants. The presence of the CYP450 gene for instance will metabolize psychiatric medications differently.
- Pre-existing Conditions– Serious ailments may also affect medicinal drug metabolism differently. Chronic liver ailments, kidney conditions, and advanced heart failure may not allow the medicine to work as needed.
- Drug-Food Interaction– The CYP450 enzymes play an active role in breaking down the concerned medicine. However, consuming the wrong type of food may affect it adversely. While the enzyme activity may increase, the drug’s efficacy is likely to be reduced. The doctor may try to decrease the activity of the enzyme to improve the condition. Unfortunately, this may result in drug intolerance.
- Age– The metabolic system related to enzyme activity changes with age. The medical professional has to take the patient’s age into account before prescribing drugs. It is the responsibility of the doctor to prescribe medication according to age and metabolic activity. This will help you to obtain the best results without any harmful side effects.
Sure, the relation between Metabolism and Medicine has been established irrevocably. However, your doctor may want to do a genetic test to find out your medication metabolism rate. This is a prescribed test that will help you to derive the full benefits of a prescription medicine.
